One More Summer Night
by lost-n-stereo
Summary: He sees her for the first time on the last Thursday afternoon of June. Bellamy and Clarke girl next door AU. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

He sees her for the first time on the last Thursday afternoon of June.

The summer sun is beating down on his neck, his already olive skin darkening as he pushes the lawn mower around his front yard. His mom has been on his ass all week to do yard work but when it's over a hundred degrees outside he'd rather be playing video games in the air conditioned house or outside in the pool. He tried to explain that to her today, that it was too hot to do anything, but she had just raised an eyebrow and pointed in the direction of the shed in their backyard. He had grumbled and complained the entire time it took him to pull on board shorts and flip flops and then to find his iPod and headphones.

He's blasting AC/DC (nothing like the classics) as loud as possible when he sees the first moving van driving down the street, followed by a small red Prius, a silver Mercedes and then another van behind that. He's not really all that interested until the makeshift convoy stops at the house next door to his own. The Hooper house has been empty for the past eight months, his good friend Darin Hooper had lived there with his family until his dad was offered a job in California.

Both of the moving vans park on the street and the Prius parks next to the Mercedes in the driveway. A middle aged couple, a tall man with sandy blonde hair and a pretty brunette, get out of the Mercedes and the man heads over to talk to the driver of one of first moving van. The woman walks over to the Prius and bends down to talk to whoever is sitting behind the wheel before stepping back when the driver's door opens.

A tall, slender blonde, probably year or so younger than himself, gets out of the Prius and the first thing that crosses Bellamy's mind is _damn._ Of course it's at that exact time that Bellamy runs over a rock in the grass, causing a loud screeching noise that makes the girl and her mom, he's assuming, look over in surprise. Bellamy groans internally but holds up a hand to wave to his new neighbors.

"Sorry about that!" He calls out and the older woman smiles and heads for the fence separating their front yards so Bellamy figures he should probably turn off the mower so he can hear whatever she has to say.

"Hi there," she calls out cheerily and he smiles before walking over to the fence. "I'm Abby Griffin."

She holds out her hand and Bellamy wipes his own off on his shorts before shaking her hand. "I'm Bellamy Blake. It's nice to meet you." She returns the sentiment before pointing to the man that is now following a line of movers into their house.

"That's my husband, Jake. And that," she says as she points to the girl. "That's our daughter, Clarke." He looks at the girl, Clarke, and she blushes and waves awkwardly as she holds a large box marked _Living Room _in her arms.

"Do you need any help?" He asks, tearing his eyes away from the girl and Abby smiles softly but shakes her head.

"It's really nice of you to offer, Bellamy, but I think the movers have it covered." It's then that his mother comes out of the house, probably to see why the mower is off before the lawn is finished, and she looks at the moving vans in surprise before heading over to where they are standing at the fence.

"Hi, I'm Aurora Blake." His mother shakes hands with Abby and he stands around awkwardly while they talk about what he can only think of as _mom_ things. Where to get the best pizza in the neighborhood, his little sister that just turned sixteen so she's practically never home, random things that a teenage boy honestly cares nothing about. After a few minutes Abby turns around and sighs as she watches one of the movers drop a box with the word FRAGILE written across it in red marker.

"Good thing I marked all of the boxes in the vans as 'Fragile'. I'm pretty sure that box is filled with throw pillow," Abby says with a wink and Bellamy chuckles. "I should probably get back but why don't we all get together after we're settled in?"

"That would be great," Bellamy's mother says and she nudges Bellamy with her elbow. "My son here is quite the wizard on the barbeque." Bellamy rolls his eyes and Abby grins.

"That sounds lovely. We will definitely have to do that. It was so nice meeting you both!" Abby smiles and waves before heading back to her family and his mom waits until she's out of earshot before she leans closer to Bellamy.

"She seems very nice," she says and Bellamy just nods. "And her daughter is very pretty." Bellamy groans and shakes his head.

"Stop trying to play matchmaker," he says seriously and his mom just laughs. "Go back in the house, I'm gonna finish the lawn."

His mom is still laughing when she goes back inside, leaving Bellamy by himself in the front yard. He rolls his eyes and shoves his earbuds back into his ears, but not before sneaking a look over to his new neighbor's yard.

What he sees is Clarke pulling a big stuffed panda bear out of her backseat, her golden hair shining in the hot summer sun, and he looks away before she catches him staring at her.

And he's really not trying to be a creep, he's staring because he's never once thought of a girl as beautiful before.

That is, not until now.

* * *

"Wait, so what you're telling me is a hot, new girl is living in Darin's old house and you haven't gone over there to talk to her yet? Is Bellamy Blake, notorious lady killer and all around super stud, losing his edge?"

Bellamy rolls his eyes and throws the football he's been twirling in his hand for the last few minutes at his best friend Jasper Jordan's head. Jasper laughs and catches it before it hits him between the eyes.

"You're a fucking idiot," Bellamy says and Jasper cackles as he tosses the football back to him.

They are sitting on Bellamy's floor, a bottle of whiskey between them, as a mindless horror movie plays on the TV in the background. It's their summer Saturday night ritual, something they started with Darin back in Freshman year, and he had insisted that they keep it going even though he wouldn't be around to participate. Jasper had shown up on his doorstep the first Saturday of summer vacation, this bottle of whiskey in one hand and a Freddy Krueger DVD in the other. They have been working on the bottle of Jack sitting between them for the past three Saturdays. It lasts a lot longer with just the two of them drinking it.

"Seriously though," Jasper says as he pours two more shots, hands one to Bellamy before lifting it up in a toast. Bellamy rolls his eyes at the gesture but taps his shot glass against Jasper's and tosses the shot back, the amber liquid burning as it coats his throat. Jasper makes a face as he sets his shot glass back down on the floor between them. "Jesus, you'd think we'd be used to that by now. But like I was saying…Seriously though, how hot are we talking about here?"

Bellamy leans so his back is up against the side of his bed, tilts his head back so it's resting on the top of the mattress.

"So hot, man. Like beach babe hot, you know? Blonde hair, blue eyes, tan skin." Jasper is nodding appreciatively, like he just knows that if Bellamy says she's attractive then she probably is. They have been friends all their lives because their moms are best friends and sometimes they joke about being as close as brothers, even twins sometimes. That's how he knows that Jasper just trusts that whatever he's saying is probably accurate.

Jasper grabs a handful of tortilla chips from the bag at his feet and tosses one in his mouth. "Where do you think she sleeps?" Bellamy raises an eyebrow and Jasper almost chokes when he starts laughing. "Not like that, I just mean…Do you think she's in Darin's old room?"

They look at each other and jump up at the same time, racing to Bellamy's window. Darin used to joke that the location of their windows was like something out of a teen comedy, except for the fact that Darin's window didn't quite match up with his, but instead about two feet to the right. They could never see into each other's windows, but they could sit on their respective windowsills and talk late into the night.

Bellamy reaches the window first and when he hears music coming from Darin's old room he holds out his arm so fast that it almost hits Jasper in the neck.

"What the hell, dude?" Jasper asks loudly and Bellamy puts a finger to his lips, points to his ear and then the window. Jasper is just staring at him like he has two heads and Bellamy groans and rolls his eyes.

"Listen," he whispers sharply and Jasper nods as they scoot closer to the open window. They are crouching now, their eyes peering over the edge of the windowsill in the hopes of catching even the smallest glimpse of the girl next door.

"What are you two idiots doing?"

They both jump at the sound of his sister's voice and when they turn around she has one perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised and both of her arms crossed over her chest.

"I highly doubt mom would be okay with you two creeps getting drunk and spying on the new neighbor girl." Bellamy stands up easily and reaches down to help Jasper up and it makes his sister laugh and roll her eyes. "You two are like dumb and dumber, I swear." Jasper finally makes it back into a standing position and he rests his hand on Bellamy's desk before smiling at the pretty brunette.

"Octavia, hey. How's it going?" He asks with a smirk and Bellamy shakes his head as Octavia glares at them.

"Seriously?" She looks at Bellamy, who just shrugs. Jasper has been into Octavia for as long as he can remember, despite her being almost two years younger than they are. "Look, mom's on her way up here. So, I'd put the booze up and be on your best behavior if I were you." She looks at Jasper again, who's now wiggling his eyebrows in her direction. "And thank god that I'm not."

She shuts the door behind her and Bellamy grabs the whiskey bottle and shoves it under his bed. He pulls a deck of cards out of his bedside table and his mom walks in seconds after he deals the cards.

"What are you boys doing?" His mother asks, her eyes narrowed as she looks at the two of them. Bellamy grins at her and holds up the cards in his hand.

"I got pocket Aces but shh…don't tell Jasper!" He whispers loudly and Jasper rolls his eyes.

"I can hear you, moron." Bellamy laughs and shrugs and his mom gives them a knowing look and a little "Mhm" under her breath, before telling them good night and shutting the door behind her. Jasper breathes out a sigh of relief and pulls the bottle back out from under the bed. "Thank god for Octavia, right?"

Bellamy punches Jasper on the shoulder before pulling the bottle from his hands. "Seriously dude. You need to knock it off with the Octavia stuff. She's my little sister, that's totally off limits." Jasper gasps dramatically and puts his hand over his heart.

"And here I thought you wanted to be brothers! I…you just…you broke my heart, Bellamy Blake."

Bellamy takes a swig of the whiskey straight out of the bottle and hands it to Jasper. "Sometimes, I really wonder how we're even friends." Jasper laughs and pats him on the arm.

"Me too, buddy. Me too."

* * *

He wakes up Sunday morning with a wicked headache.

Jasper is passed out on his floor, the bottle of Jack lying empty on the rug next to him. Bellamy groans when the sun from the open window hits his eyes. He usually sleeps with it closed, with heavy dark curtains to keep the summer sun from cooking him in his sleep. They had gotten far too buzzed last night and when Bellamy's head hit the pillow at three am he wasn't even thinking about the morning.

He steps over Jasper to get to the window and he's about to pull it closed when he sees a flash of silver out of the corner of his eye.

Clarke is pushing her window open, a silver bracelet catching the sun with the movement. He tries to pull the window closed before she sees him but it's too late and she jumps a little at the sight of him.

"Holy shit!" She yells and he chuckles a little to himself as she holds a hand up to her chest. "You scared me!"

"Yeah, sorry about that," he says. "I'm Bellamy."

She's still breathing hard, and she smiles as she pushes her hair out of her face. "I'm Clarke."

"And I'm Jasper!" Bellamy rolls his eyes as Jasper pushes his way into the frame of the doorway. "Welcome to the neighborhood!"

"You're brothers?" Clarke asks, looking from one to the other, probably wondering if one, or both, of them are adopted.

Bellamy shakes his head. "Not brothers. Well, not by blood."

It makes her smile and he likes the look on her. Her blue eyes sparkle and her cheeks are a little flushed. She's fucking gorgeous. He hears her mom calling her name from downstairs and she yells back saying that she'll be down in a minute.

"Yeah, so I gotta go downstairs for breakfast," she says and he nods lamely as she gives them a little wave and pulls her head back out of the window. He pulls his shut before yanking the dark curtains over the window to block out the sun.

"Holy shit, dude." Jasper says as he lays back down on Bellamy's floor.

"Yeah," Bellamy says in agreement as he pushes his pillow back under his head. "Yeah, I know."

* * *

He doesn't see her again until Tuesday afternoon, when he's washing his truck in the driveway. She's carrying a pink yoga mat and her hair is up in one of those messy buns all the girls in his school wear during gym class. She holds up her hand in a wave as she gets into her Prius and he raises his own as she passes by her house.

The only thing on his mind when he watches her car turn off of their street is _this is going to be one hell of a summer._


	2. Chapter 2

_a/n: The response to this fic has been a little overwhelming! Thanks to everyone that has taken the time to read, like, reblog, favorite or comment! It really means so much that people like what I write enough to share it with others so thank you from the bottom of my heart! Also to clarify, Bellamy and Jasper are 18, Clarke is 17 and Octavia is 16. Bellamy, Jasper and Clarke will all be seniors at the same time. Let's pretend Bellamy and Jasper just started school a little late ;) _

"Bellamy Blake! You better not be sleeping, I swear to G-"

He looks up from the English textbook sitting on the desk in front of him (summer school can suck it) and chuckles when he sees his mom's shocked face from the doorway of his room.

"Oh. You're up," she says nonchalantly and he rolls his eyes as he marks his place in the book before shutting it.

"Yeah, I have class in an hour. I'm trying to finish this assignment before I go." He normally does really good in school, not quite a straight A student, but he's never had to take summer school before. Not even playing three sports a year has slowed him down but when their football team got into the playoffs last year his grades really suffered. He was able to catch up on most of it before the end of the school year, except for English. It's the only class he has during the summer, and it's only two days a week for the next few weeks so it could definitely be worse.

"If I give you a list and some cash, can you stop by the grocery store on your way home?" His mom asks hopefully and he groans.

"Why can't Octavia do it? I have plans with Jasper after class."

His mom rolls her eyes and puts her hands on her hips. "You have plans with Jasper every day. Take him with you." She pulls the list and a hundred dollar bill out of her pocket and puts it in his hand. "Make sure you get everything on there, please."

He reads the list over and notices that the amount of things she's requesting he buy is about twice as much as she normally would. "Are we feeding the Army this weekend or what?"

"No, the Griffins are coming over for a barbeque on Saturday," his mom replies casually. He wants to rolls his eyes and complain but really there are worst things he could think of than Clarke at his house.

He jumps up and grabs the book off his desk and stuffs it in his messenger bag. "Alright, I'm leaving." He stops to kiss his mom on the cheek and tells her goodbye before heading down the stairs to grab his truck keys and cell phone. He types out a quick text to Jasper to tell him that instead of playing basketball at the gym after school they are taking a trip to the grocery store instead.

_The fuck would we do that for? _Jasper's text back reads and Bellamy laughs as he climbs into the cab of his pickup and he texts him back before turning his truck on.

_Because there is a BBQ at my house this weekend and the girl next door is coming. _He's just about to pull out of his driveway when his phone beeps.

_Well in that case…Hell yeah! Let's make that grocery store our bitch!_

Bellamy rolls his eyes as he tosses his phone into the passenger seat and heads off towards the high school.

* * *

"I expect everyone in this class to turn in a book report on The Great Gatsby in three weeks. And please don't ask me if you can watch the Leonardo DiCaprio movie instead because the answer will be a resounding no!"

Bellamy chuckles as he accepts his copy of The Great Gatsby from the cute brunette that is passing them around. He doesn't remember ever seeing her in school but she's got a pretty face and her dark hair is pulled up in a high ponytail. He's in the back of the class so his book is the last one she has to pass out.

"Thanks," he says with a smile but she doesn't go back to her chair right away.

"You're Bellamy Blake, right?" She asks and he nods as he starts to gather his stuff up. It's not that he's trying to be rude he just has shit to do and he doesn't really want to be in this classroom any longer than he already has to be. "I'm Raven."

"You know me, but I don't know you. What's up with that?" He asks as they head out of the classroom side by side.

"I came in late last year. That's why I have to take this class, I missed the first half of the semester." He sees Jasper waiting by his truck when they get to the parking lot.

"So that explains why I don't know you, but not really how you know me." Raven laughs as she pulls her bag higher up on her shoulder.

"I used to go to Mercy High," she explains and he nods in understanding. Mercy High is their rival school and they play each other in a big game at the beginning of every season. They are almost to his truck when Raven stops and points to her car, a dark blue Focus parked a few down from his. "Let's just say your reputation proceeds you. That's my car over there. I guess I'll see you on Monday?" Bellamy nods and Raven smiles and waves before heading towards her car.

"Who was _that_?"

Jasper's voice comes from right beside his ear and Bellamy jumps a little before turning around to slug Jasper in the arm.

"Raven, she's a girl in my class." He says as he pulls his keys out of his pocket to unlock his door, reaching over once he's inside to unlock Jasper's.

"So you have the girl in your class _and_ the girl next door. What's a man to do?"

Bellamy shakes his head as he slides the key in the ignition and Jasper grins as he buckles his seat belt.

What Bellamy doesn't say, what he doesn't really want to admit out loud, is that he doesn't think any girl can compare to the one next door.

* * *

"Ketchup, check! Mustard, check! Mayo, check! Jesus, Bell. How did your family run out of every single condiment known to man?"

Bellamy snickers as he throws two packages of hamburger buns into the cart. "I think my mom is just making sure we don't run out." He reaches for two packages of hot dog buns and throws those in the cart too. His mom didn't put hot dogs on the list but he likes them and he's the one that's going to be doing all of the actual barbequing anyways.

"Dude…what if the Griffins are like…vegan?" Jasper asks as he holds up a pound of hamburger and looks between it and Bellamy with a scrunched up nose. Bellamy looks at the hamburger meat and back down at the list.

"Shit. You're right. Let's get veggie burgers too. Just to be safe."

It takes another twenty minutes before the cart is filled with every summery food available under the sun. Watermelon, bananas, strawberries and blueberries for his mom's famous fruit salad. Chips and three different kinds of dip. All of the fixings for hamburgers, veggie burgers and hot dogs. Jasper looks over the food in the cart and then up at Bellamy.

"I _am_ invited to this thing, right?" he asks, reaching for a bag of potato chips sitting on top. Bellamy reaches out and smacks his hand away and they both laugh.

"Dude, mi casa es su casa. Always." The woman behind the counter scans the last item and Bellamy pulls his wallet out of his pocket.

"Your total comes to $137.65." Bellamy looks at the hundred in his hand and back at the cashier before turning to Jasper.

"Scratch that. You can come but the entry fee is $37.65 and I'm gonna need it immediately."

* * *

"Mom, we're home!"

Bellamy walks into the house, both arms loaded down with plastic bags, with Jasper doing the same thing as he trails behind him. His mom walks out of the kitchen, her eyes widening at the scene.

"Did you two buy the whole store?" she asks sarcastically and Bellamy laughs as he sets his bags down on the kitchen floor.

"Ha ha," he jokes and she smiles. "By the way, you owe Jasper thirty-seven bucks."

"Uh, excuse you. It's $37.65. Mrs. B, Bellamy here is trying to rip me off sixty-five cents of my hard earned money." Bellamy rolls his eyes as he starts pulling groceries out of the bags.

"Dude, your parents are loaded. Hard earned money, my ass." His mom reaches over and smacks him on the arm.

"Language, Bellamy Blake." Jasper flips him off behind her back and Bellamy raises his hand in a fist. "I didn't put hot dogs on the list…" Bellamy lowers his fist and looks at his mom.

"Uh…yeah I added those. And veggie burgers because Jasper the Mindless Wonder over there actually had an original thought for once about the Griffins possibly not eating meat." His mom smiles and pats Jasper on the shoulder.

"Good thinking, Mindless Wonder." Jasper laughs as he passes a bag of tortilla chips to Bellamy, who puts them in the cupboard with the rest of the snack foods.

"Thanks, Mrs. B."

They finish the task quickly, with the three of them working together, and when they are done Bellamy plops down in one of the kitchen chairs with Jasper following shortly after. His mom sets two glasses of lemonade on the table in front of them and they both thank her before they each take a drink.

"Thank you both for going shopping for me," his mom says as she pulls two twenties out of her wallet and hands them to Jasper. "Keep the change." He laughs and thanks her as he tucks the bills into his back pocket.

"What are you up to for the rest of the day?" Bellamy asks his mom as he sets his glass down on the kitchen table.

"I have a date with Greg. We're going to see that new Bruce Willis movie and then we're going to grab some takeout for everyone and bring it back here." Bellamy's mom has been dating Greg for a few months and while Bellamy doesn't dislike him, he doesn't really like him all that much either. "Jasper will you be staying for dinner?" Both boys look at her with raised eyebrows and she laughs and nods. "Right. I'll be sure to add some Kung Pao Pork to the list."

Jasper gives her a thumbs up. "You're the best, Mrs. B!" He calls out and she makes a finger gun movement and winks before leaving the room. Jasper grins and looks at Bellamy. "Your mom is awesome. And is it just me, or is she kinda hot?"

Bellamy shakes his head and reaches over to punch his friend in the arm.

"You have problems."

* * *

Thursday and Friday pass quickly and before he knows it, it's Saturday.

His mom is buzzing around the house, putting everyone to work as she preps the food that he'll be barbequing in a few hours. Their refrigerator is full of prepared side dishes and cans of soda and bottles of imported beer.

"What time are the Griffins supposed to be here again?" Octavia asks as she cut tomatoes next to their mom in the kitchen. "I feel like this is way too much food." Aurora shakes her head as she washes a head of lettuce in the sink.

"They are coming at five. And there's no such thing as being too prepared, Octavia." Bellamy watches his sister mouth their mom's words sarcastically under her breath and it makes him laugh. He tries to cover it up with a cough when his mom looks sharply at him but she catches him anyways. "You should be thanking me for this, Bellamy Blake."

He raises an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Because of the girl, duh." Octavia snorts and Bellamy shoots her a glare.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he says and both women laugh as he narrows his eyes. "What's so funny?" His mom grins as she starts chopping the lettuce and throws it into a bowl.

"It's okay to have a crush on the girl next door," his mom says. "Your life could be like a real life romantic comedy!" Bellamy rolls his eyes and puts the knife he'd been using to cut onions (he's the only one of them that can do it without the tears) down next to the cutting board.

"You two are out of your mind," he says seriously and they both giggle as they go to work on their respective chores. Bellamy pushes the cut onions into a bowl and sticks the bowl into the fridge, his phone beeping in his pocket to indicate a new text. He pulls it out and reads the text from Jasper (_on my way bitch)_, laughs and tells his mom that he's going to dressed before Jasper gets there.

Twenty minutes later he's sitting on his floor in board shorts and a white t shirt, his flip flops lying on the carpet next to him and an Xbox controller in his hand.

"What's up, what's up?" Jasper says as he opens the door of Bellamy's room. "You decent?" Bellamy kicks out his leg so it trips up Jasper as he walks in front of the TV.

"No, so get the fuck out." Bellamy jokes and Jasper flips him off before dropping onto the floor next to him. "Wanna play?" He asks, holding out the extra controller and Jasper nods as he turns it on.

"When are the neighbors showing up?" Jasper asks a few minutes later and Bellamy looks at the clock on his desk, which reads 4:31.

"Like half an hour. We should probably go see if my mom needs anything else done before they get here."

His mom puts them to work setting the picnic tables in the backyard and he's lighting the tiki torches that surround their pool when they hear the doorbell ring through the open sliding glass door.

"I'll get it!" Octavia yells as she sprints into the house. Bellamy's mom looks around the backyard quickly.

"Does everything look okay?" She asks quietly and Bellamy and Jasper both tell her that everything looks fine. He's about to ask her why she's even putting so much time and effort into this when Octavia comes out into the yard, followed by Abby, Jake and Clarke.

Clarke is wearing a white summer dress that looks outstanding against her tan skin and Bellamy involuntarily licks his lips as he watches her push her sunglasses up and into her hair. Abby is introducing her husband to everyone because he's the only one they haven't actually met and Aurora introduces the Griffins to Octavia and Jasper.

"We've actually already met," Clarke says, motioning to Jasper. "I thought he and Bellamy were brothers." Aurora laughs and shakes her head while Jasper lets out a "Hey!" in her direction.

Bellamy watches as they all sort of stand around awkwardly after that and he figures he might as well be the one that gets this party going.

"So," he says, clapping his hands together in front of his chest. "Who's hungry?"


	3. Chapter 3

"So…Boca Burgers?"

Bellamy looks over at Clarke, who's turning the box of veggie burgers in her hands to look at the back, and chuckles.

"I'm guessing by your tone that you're _not_ a vegetarian," Bellamy says with a smile and Clarke giggles as she hands the box back to him.

"Definitely not," she laughs. "My dad makes the best T-Bone steak you'll ever eat." Bellamy grins as he flips the burgers on the grill over and watches as Clarke takes a sip of the lemonade his mom made this morning.

After a short bout of awkwardness in the beginning of the party, everyone finally started to talk and get to know each other. Jasper and Octavia are sitting at one of the picnic tables with Clarke's dad Jake, asking him about his job as a professor at the local college. His mom and Abby are drinking red wine out of big wine glasses, both of their shoes off as they sit on the edge of the pool with their feet dangling in the water.

Clarke is watching all of this with a smile on her face. He can't look at anything but her.

"Your mom is great," she says as she watches as their moms laugh at something they can't hear. "It was really nice of her to do this for us."

"She's happy to do it," Bellamy says, his eyes traveling over to where his mom is sitting. "We were all really close to the family that lived next door before you moved in. I think she's hoping you guys will be the new Hooper's." Clarke laughs quietly as she sits down in one of the lawn chairs that he set up next to the barbeque and Bellamy checks the burgers once more before closing the lid and sitting down next to her.

"So…the Hooper you were close to…was it their daughter?" Bellamy raises an eyebrow at her question and it makes Clarke flush with embarrassment. "I don't know why I asked that."

Bellamy laughs. "Not their daughter, though they do have one. She's six." They both laugh and Bellamy continues. "Darin Hooper, their son, is a good friend of mine. His dad got offered a really good job in California and they moved at the end of last year." Clarke opens her mouth to say something but the shrill sound of his mom's voice suddenly fills the air.

"Bellamy! Can you run inside and grab more ice?" He rolls his eyes at his mom and stands up with a groan. Clarke starts to get up to but Bellamy shakes his head.

"You don't have to help," he says but she stands up anyways and shrugs.

"I don't mind." She says with a little smile as she pushes past him, her bare arm brushing against his in the process. He looks over at Jasper, who's nodding with a thumbs up and rolls his eyes again before following Clarke to the house.

"So, did you move here because of _your_ dad's new job?" Bellamy asks once they are inside and Clarke nods.

"He was a science teacher at my old high school," Clarke explains and then laughs at the expression on Bellamy's face. "It wasn't as bad as it sounds. But then he got offered a job teaching Earth and Environmental Science at Arizona State and now here we are." Bellamy pulls a bag of ice out of the freezer and hoists it up onto his shoulder.

"What about your mom? What does she do?"

"She's a doctor," she says as she hurries to the sliding glass door to open it for him and he smiles at her in thanks. "She took a position at St. Joseph's."

"Wow," he says as he dumps the ice into the cooler set up outside and Clarke looks at him questioningly. "It's just, your dad is a professor. Your mom is a doctor. You're like, the Princess of Phoenix now." Clarke laughs out loud and Bellamy decides immediately that it's his new favorite sound in the world. Her cheeks are flushed pink and her blue eyes are twinkling in the sunlight.

"Please don't tell me that's going to become a thing," she says with a grin and he shrugs.

"I don't know. I kinda like the sound of it, _Princess_." She blushes again when he winks and he smiles proudly to himself for the ability to turn her that color twice in less than five minutes.

* * *

"And then I said…but what about the turtle?!"

Everyone laughs as Jasper throws his hands up in the air comically, his go-to story a hit with the Griffins like it is with everyone he tells it to. Bellamy has heard the turtle story at least fifty times but it never stops being funny, especially the way that Jasper tells it.

Clarke is wiping tears from her eyes as she listens and Bellamy watches the scene in front of him in amusement. They are all seated around the fire pit in his backyard roasting marshmallows, the summer sun setting and the air finally cooling down as they take turns telling stories. Bellamy told them about the time that he had stolen his mom's car with Jasper and Darin at twelve to take a joyride down to the arcade. Abby told a hilarious story about the first time she had met Jake, how they had ran into each other on their bikes when they were seventeen and had both ended up in the emergency room.

"Okay, okay. It's my turn," Clarke says as she takes a drink from her soda and sets it down next to her. Bellamy is sitting next to her on one of the stone benches that line their fire pit so he angles himself so he can see her better. His knee brushes her thigh and she looks down once quickly and smiles before turning to everyone else.

"Are you going to tell the ghost story again?" Abby asks with a grin and Clarke opens her mouth in shock and throws a marshmallow at her mom's head, which just makes the woman laugh harder.

"Please excuse my mother for interrupting," Clarke says pointedly at her mother and it makes everyone laugh. "Anyways. When I was eight I was in Girl Scouts and my mom insisted that I go to a two week long Girl Scout summer camp even though I was extremely shy and hated being away from her.

"The camp we went to was this really old lodge like forty five minutes from our house and all of us were assigned to camp counselors that were just older girls from other troops. One night after dinner, our camp counselor, this really obnoxious girl named Sarah, pulls a Ouija board out from under one of the bunk beds and explains to us how she had snuck it into camp two summers before even though it was against camp rules.

"So all of us gather around this Ouija board not really knowing what it was and Sarah tells us about a Girl Scout camp counselor named Mary Miller that had drowned in the lake near the lodge over thirty years before."

Clarke stops her story to take another sip from her soda and Bellamy glances around to see everyone waiting intently for Clarke to continue, even her parents who he's guessing have heard this story a million times before. She licks her lips slowly and then continues.

"The story went that Mary had been meeting someone down at the lake the night she disappeared, a boy that had been staying at a nearby lodge with his family. The boy had been found alive near the lake the next morning, dirty and shaking as he mumbled incoherently about a 'darkness' that had pulled Mary into the lake. The cops came and dragged the lake but they never found Mary's body.

"Sarah told us that people that stayed at the lodge had claimed to see a young woman in a red nightgown walking down by the lake before disappearing into thin air and that her and her friends had been trying to contact Mary for the past two summers with no luck. She said that since that year was the thirtieth anniversary of Mary's death that maybe she would be ready to communicate with someone and that's what the Ouija board was for.

"So, Sarah sets out the board and we all gather around it and she picks the oldest of our troop, Emily, to hold the other side of the mover…_thing_. Sarah starts asking questions like 'Mary, are you here?' and 'Mary, can you tell us what really happened thirty years ago?' All of a sudden the lights start flickering, and we're all looking around but I remembered that the same thing happened at our house because the wiring was old so I told everyone that and that it didn't mean that Mary was actually there.

"But then something really strange happened," Clarke says, her voice becoming more grave and Bellamy can't help but believe that not only did all of this happen but it must have been pretty scary for a little girl.

"Emily wasn't much older than me, maybe ten at the most. And Sarah was pretty freaked out about the lights flashing so she took her hands off of the Ouija board and when she did…well. That's when it started moving. Sarah looks down at the board and starts reading aloud what Emily is spelling. 'Beware of the darkness.' It was at that exact moment that the power in the entire lodge went out."

Everyone is just staring at Clarke, who takes a big gulp of her drink before setting it back down with shaking hands.

"We had to sit in the dark for almost an hour while the lodge's handyman tried to figure out what had set off the power outage but he had no idea why it had gone out. The next morning I called my mom, told her I wanted to quit Girl Scouts and that I was ready to come home. But that's not even the freakiest thing about it. When I went to pack all of my stuff up, I looked at my bunk and saw the initials M.M. carved into the wood on one of the posts. Needless to say, I waited for my mom outside."

Everyone is completely silent and Bellamy watches Clarke, who's sitting quietly now with her hands folded in her lap.

"Jesus," Jasper says, mostly Bellamy thinks to break the silence and Clarke lets out a little laugh as she nods.

"Right?" Clarke nods and everyone stays silent until Abby looks at her watch and sighs as she puts her hand on her husband's arm.

"I hate to be the party pooper but I have to get up early for work tomorrow," she says with a frown. "We should probably get going."

They all get out of their chairs to say their goodbyes and Jasper comes over to where Bellamy and Clarke are standing.

"Clarke, you don't have to go, do you?" Jasper asks as Bellamy just blinks at him. "See, Bellamy and I have this Saturday night tradition. A little horror and hooch. Whaddya say?" Clarke looks at Bellamy questioningly and Bellamy is still a little stunned at Jasper's boldness but he gets over it quickly and nods.

"Yeah, totally. The more the merrier. You in?"

Clarke thinks for a minute, her teeth chewing on her bottom lip, before she nods.

"Yeah. Yeah, why not? But let me tell my mom that I'm staying." They watch as Clarke heads in Abby's direction and when Abby makes eye contact with him over Clarke's shoulder he's positive she's going to say no. But then Abby is smiling at Clarke and nodding, probably excited that her daughter is making friends in this new place. Clarke hugs her mom and dad goodbye before walking back over to them.

"She said she doesn't care as long as I offer to help clean up," Clarke says and Bellamy grins.

"So let's get this place cleaned up so we can have some real fun!"

* * *

"Truth or dare?"

Bellamy shakes his head as Clarke giggles, a shot glass full of whiskey in one hand. Her hair is up in a ponytail with a few loose curls that he's been dying to move out of her face all night. She's definitely fun to drink with, matching him and Jasper shot for shot, and when the first movie they watched (The Conjuring) ended she had insisted on putting on another (Evil Dead). Now apparently she's moved on to playing Truth or Dare.

"Come on Bellamy!" She pleads and she downs her shot before looking at him from under her lashes. "Please!" He groans and throws his head back.

"Fine! Umm..truth, I guess."

"Chicken," Jasper says from where he's sitting on the floor, a pillow sitting on his lap that he says is to keep him comfortable but Bellamy knows it's because Evil Dead scares the shit out of him. Bellamy points to said pillow now.

"Seriously? You're one to talk." Jasper flips him off and jumps when a girl on the movie screams and it makes Bellamy laugh out loud. "Whatever then. Dare."

Clarke giggles and claps as she sets her shot glass down on the table. "Okay. Bellamy, I dare you to…" She taps her finger on her chin before laughing. "I dare you to strip down to your boxers and run down the street singing 'Look at me, I'm Bellamy B.' at the top of your lungs."

"What?" Bellamy asks with wide eyes and Clarke bursts into a fit of giggles.

"Like in Grease! You know…" She stands up, jumps on his bed and starts singing. "Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee!" Jasper is rolling on the floor laughing and Bellamy stands up and holds his arms out for Clarke, who laughs and lets him pull her off the bed.

"Yeah, I'm not doing that." Bellamy states and Clarke frowns as she sits back down on the floor.

"You're no fun," Clarke says and Bellamy laughs as he sits down next to her and bumps his knee with hers. "That's why it's better to play Truth or Dare with girls. They will actually do stuff like that." Jasper sits up at that.

"Wait, so you've gotten girls to run down the street in their underwear before?" Clarke nods. "Let's go get Octavia." Bellamy glares at Jasper for that and it makes Clarke crack up.

"You've really got it bad for her, don't you Jasper?" Clarke asks but Jasper doesn't respond. He just shrugs and sits back down on the floor, pulling his pillow back into his lap. Clarke looks down at her watch and curses. "Shit. I should probably get home. It's almost two in the morning."

"I'll walk you," Bellamy says and Clarke smiles and nods as she stands up to collect her things. Jasper winks at Bellamy, who gets in a good kick in Jasper's side before Clarke turns around to tell him goodbye.

They tiptoe down the stairs and through the front door and Clarke laughs when the night air hits her face.

"Tonight was fun," she says. "Thank you for inviting me."

Bellamy nods. "Of course. You're welcome to join us anytime." Clarke smiles at that and they head in the direction of her house.

"So is there anything fun to do in this town in the summer?" she asks when they get to her door, her keys still in her hand as she looks up at him.

"Totally. There's lakes and water parks. Places to camp. Lots of stuff." Clarke nods as she steps closer to Bellamy and he licks his lips as his eyes dart down to her mouth and back up again. She puts a hand on each of his shoulders before leaning up to whisper in his ear.

"Maybe we can go do something like that sometime?" She asks and he nods dumbly as she places a chaste kiss on his cheek. "Goodnight Bellamy Blake."

She gives him a little smile before she closes the door behind her and he lets out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

"Goodnight Clarke Griffin."


End file.
